He
doesn't
hit
for
enough
power
to
make
up
for
his
bad
on-base
percentage;

Therefore,
he
doesn't
hit
enough
overall
to
make
up
for
his
bad
defense
at
an
easy
position;

And
while
he's
young,
youth
is
only
meaningful
if
there's
good
reason
to
believe
that
with
age
will
come
improvement,
and
Viciedo
has
displayed
nothing
in
his
multi-year
career
providing
a
valid
ground
for
that
belief.

Susan
Slusser
notes
that
"if
the
price
is
right"
Viciedo
could
make
sense
for
the
A's.
On
a
minor-league
deal,
the
price
is
right
for
anybody,
so
I'd
agree
there,
but
there
is
no
amount
of
money
that
should
guarantee
Viciedo
a
spot
on
the
40-man
roster.
I'd
rather
have
every
single
player
currently
on
the
fringe
over
Viciedo.

Luke
Carlin
guessing
that
Barry
Zito
was
throwing
in
the
upper
80s
in
his
bullpen
session.
I'd
ask
Mr.
Carlin
to
stop
giving
all
of
us
hope,
please.

I
would
also
note
that
Zito's
fastball
velocity,
according
to
PITCHf/x,
looks
like
this:

Year

Avg
Four-seam
Velo.

2008

85.7

2009

87.1

2010

86.6

2011

84.5

2012

84.9

2013

84.2

So
you'll
forgive
me
thinking
Zito
didn't
add
three
or
four
mph
to
his
fastball
by
sitting
out
a
year,
regardless
of
what
he
did
to
get
his
mechanics
in
order
or
what
have
you.
He's
37.
Age
comes
for
us
all.

stats.
Nobody
thinks
anymore
that
you
can
look
at
a
minor-leaguer's
numbers
and
project
him
accurately
using
only
that
line.
They're
tiny
young
babies
with
literal
physical
growth
as
well
as
skills
growth
remaining,
so
it
would
be
foolish
not
to
take
account
of
what
scouting
experts
think.

With
that
caveat
out
of
the
way,
it's
still
fair
and
important
to
look
at
actual
performance.
Everyone
has
blind
spots,
and
at
some
point
a
player's
unsexiness
has
to
recede
in
the
face
of
consistently
good
hitting,
or
vice
versa
--
sometimes
the
explosion
never
comes.
Which
is
why
it's
interesting
that
Chris
Mitchell,
now
writing
at
FanGraphs,
has
developed
KATOH,
a
minors-only
projection
system.
We'll
see,
of
course,
how
it
winds
up
faring
against
other
systems
that
project
everybody,
like
ZiPS
or
PECOTA,
but
the
theory,
if
you
read
Mitchell's
series
of
introductory
posts
at
Beyond
the
Box
Score,
is
intriguing.

In
what
may
not
come
as
a
shock
to
you,
the
A's
have
a
number
of
players
who
show
up
better
in
KATOH
than
in
scout-based
or
blended
prospect
rankings
available
elsewhere.
If
you
click
the
link
and
scroll
down,
you'll
see
Matt
Olson
higher
than
almost
anyone
else
has
him,
you'll
see
Rangel
Ravelo
in
the
top
200,
you'll
see
Renato
Nunez
look
better
than
others
seem
to
think.
There's
perhaps
a
love
of
corner
bats
here,
and
maybe
the
system
will
turn
out
not
to
fully
appreciate
the
defensive/positional
limitations
of
such
players,
but
Franklin
Barreto
also
shows
up
on
the
list
in
the
same
range
that
other
lists
have
him.

Check
it
out
and
keep
an
eye
on
Mitchell's
work
going
forward,
though
one
suspects
if
he
does
it
well
enough
he's
not
going
to
be
working
in
public
for
long.

his
top
200
prospects
over
at
FanGraphs.
A's
representation
is
as
poor
as
you'd
expect:
Franklin
Barreto
is
the
only
player
to
get
a
writeup
(the
top
142,
a/k/a
the
players
with
a
50
(average)
"future
value"
rating,
get
writeups)
while
Matt
Olson,
Renato
Nunez,
and
Matt
Chapman
are
all
listed
as
45
"future
value"
players
and
therefore
unranked
specifically
but
in
the
143-to-200
range.

McDaniel
sees
Barreto
as
a
possible
utility
guy
if
he
needs
to
be
that
and,
perhaps
most
importantly
for
the
A's,
a
fast
mover
despite
his
youth
because
of
advanced
hitting
skills.
He
sees
two
future
plus
tools,
but
they're
his
speed
and
arm,
so
you
can
see
why
he
doesn't
rank
higher.

team
released
its
organizational
rankings
today.
It's
not
behind
the
paywall,
so
go
get
you
some.

The
A's
come
in
a
miserable
27th,
up
one
spot
from
last
year,
and
you're
not
going
to
hear
me
complaining
about
how
unfair
that
is.
On
the
other
hand,
they're
fourth
in
their
division
because
the
Angels
continue
to
be
worse
than
Oakland
in
this
department.
The
A's
have
a
better
excuse,
in
a
sense,
because
they've
been
trading
all
their
good
prospects.
The
Angels
made
the
Huston
Street
trade
last
year,
but
for
the
most
part
have
just
struggled
to
draft
and/or
develop
consistently.
(Not
that
the
A's
were
the
Cubs
before
the
Samardzija
and
Zobrist
deals,
but
still.)

about
Hector
Olivera
here
at
all,
but
Jeremy
Koo
at
Athletics
Nation
linked
to
a
tweet
from
Ben
Badler
that
mentioned
the
A's
among
teams
with
"a
notable
presence"
at
a
showcase
for
Olivera,
so
I
thought
I
would
link
it
as
well.
The
main
thing
I
want
to
ask,
and
I
say
this
not
as
a
criticism
of
Badler
in
any
way,
because
he
seems
to
be
everywhere
and
know
everything,
and
he
even
got
big
ups
from
Peter
Gammons
today
on
Twitter,
but
the
main
thing
I
don't
know
is
what
a
"notable
presence"
means.
Is
that
code
for
"David
Forst
was
there,
not
just
some
low-level
scout"?
Is
it
about
quantity?
Does
quantity
imply
quality
because
every
team
only
has
so
many
scouts,
so
if
you've
got
10
in
attendance,
that
necessarily
means
that
some
of
them
are
going
to
be
high-level,
at
least
crosscheckers
if
not
further
up
the
chain?

I
genuinely
don't
know,
and
I'm
curious,
though
I
understand
it's
a
tweet
and
generally
baseball
reporters
aren't
in
the
business
of
doing
the
gossip
pages
thing
of
listing
every
front-office
member
in
attendance
at
every
baseball
event.

Please
do
not
hit-and-run
more
often
just
because
the
offense
doesn't
look
as
powerful
without
Yoenis
Cespedes
and
Brandon
Moss.
I'd
much
rather
you
trust
your
hitters
to
pick
their
pitches
and
your
baserunners
to
pick
theirs
than
gamble
on
getting
the
right
pitch
at
the
right
time
and
have
the
hitter
cut
down
on
his
swing
at
the
same
time.
Green
light
the
whole
team
like
you've
done
and
let
'em
play
ball,
says
me.

go
to
arbitration
very
often—Jane
Lee
noted
that,
counting
this
hearing
with
Jarrod
Parker,
they've
done
it
a
grand
total
of
three
times
in
the
Billy
Beane
era
(which,
don't
look
now,
is
entering
its
eighteenth
seeason).
They've
won
all
three
times,
though
the
whole
concept
of
"the
A's
don't
go
to
arbitration
very
often"
(and,
to
be
clear,
this
isn't
unique
to
the
A's—most
teams
are
avoiding
hearings
as
much
as
they
possibly
can
these
days)
is
that
nobody
wins
by
going
to
a
hearing.
Sure,
the
team
saves
$650,000
on
Jarrod
Parker's
contract
(he
filed
at
$1.5
million,
the
A's
at
$850,000),
but
they
have
to
sit
in
the
hearing,
presumably
with
him
present,
and
tell
the
arbitration
panel
about
how
players
with
two
Tommy
John
surgeries
rarely
make
it
back
100
percent,
how
his
solid
track
record
with
the
A's
(3.73
ERA
over
two
years)
is
more
attributable
to
defense
(3.94
FIP)
and
park
(104
ERA+)
than
anything
special
he's
doing,
on
and
on
and
on.

At
least,
as
a
percentage
of
the
amounts
at
issue,
the
sides
were
quite
far
apart,
more
justifying
a
hearing
than,
say,
the
absurd
Marlins–Mat
Latos
hearing,
which
went
down
over
a
$9.4
million
vs.
$10.4
million
discrepancy.
I
know
they're
the
Marlins,
but
the
player
and
team
really
ought
to
be
able
to
settle
in
the
middle
on
that.

Anyway,
I'm
not
optimistic
that
Parker's
going
to
be
anything
more
than
a
fourth
starter
for
the
A's
this
year,
assuming
he
makes
it
back
in
May
or
June
or
so,
but
this
is
why
you
trade
for
Kendall
Graveman
and
Chris
Bassitt
and
Sean
Nolin
when
you've
already
got
Jesse
Chavez
and
Drew
Pomeranz
and
Arnold
Leon
hanging
around—just
churn
churn
churn
through
as
many
guys
as
you
need
until
you
figure
out
what
works
behind
the
Sonny
Gray–Scott
Kazmir–Jesse
Hahn
trio.

hand,
Ike
Davis
isn't
all
that
good
at
hitting
baseballs
relative
to
what
major-league
first
basemen
are
supposed
to
do.

On
the
other,
neither
was
Brandon
Moss
before
he
came
to
Oakland
(and
Davis'
major-league
stat
line
is
a
damn
sight
better
than
Moss'
was).

On
the
other
other,
Moss
can
play
the
outfield,
while
Davis
is
limited
to
first
base.
Also
on
this
same
hand,
Moss
came
on
a
minor-league
deal
while
Davis,
if
he
stays,
will
cost
something
in
the
low-
or
mid-seven
figures.

Is
a
deal
coming?
Probably,
in
the
sense
that
with
Billy
Beane
there's
always
a
deal
coming.
Does
this
acquisition
necessarily
mean
that
a
deal
is
coming
with
Josh
Reddick
or
Brandon
Moss
or
John
Jaso?
Not
neces--
okay,
actually,
looking
at
the
roster
and
looking
at
the
fact
that
it
might
be
pretty
silly
to
give
up
anything
of
value
(and
losing
$270,000
in
international
slot
value
is
something),
it
probably
is
fair
to
guess
that
a
trade
with
one
of
those
players
is
more
likely
than
a
trade
of
Josh
Donaldson
or,
I
don't
know,
Nate
Freiman.

out
$4
million
as
the
kind
of
dollar
figure
Stephen
Drew
might
have
to
settle
for.
If
that's
true,
then
I'd
very
much
desire
the
A's
to
be
the
team
that
gives
him
that
$4
million
(or
even
that
the
A's
be
the
team
that
calls
him
and
says
"we're
offering
$5.5
right
now,
take
it
or
else
we'll
move
on
and
you'll
wind
up
getting
$4
somewhere
else
later")
because
by
our
best
understandings,
$4
million
(or
$5.5
million)
is
well
under
what
teams
are
paying
for
a
win
above
replacement
on
the
free-agent
market
these
days,
and
as
utterly
crummy
as
Drew
was
in
2014
with
the
bat,
he's
probably
still
an
adequate
fielder
and
I
would
bet
he
can
put
up
something
like
a
90
OPS+,
and
as
unexciting
as
all
that
is,
it's
not
clear
what
the
A's
other
options
are
going
to
be.
« »

has
been
building
a
minor-league
stats
system
called
JAVIER
for
a
while
now.
The
goal
is
to
find
a
stats-only
approach
that
can
given
a
rough
idea
of
how
likely
that
player
is
to
succeed
in
the
majors.
To
be
clear,
St.
John
does
not
pretend,
and
we
should
not
pretend,
that
this
approach,
or
any
stats-only
approach,
can
replace
scouting.
The
value,
I
think,
in
a
system
like
this
is
to
compare
what
the
stats
system
says
to
what
scouts
say,
perhaps
to
supplement
the
scouts,
perhaps
to
find
overlooked
players
whose
tools
don't
excite
anyone
but
who
keep
producing
numbers
such
that
we
might
expect
them
to
produce
in
the
majors
notwithstanding
no
Troutian
physical
abilities.

So
what's
at
the
link
is
JAVIER's
top
25
A's
under
the
age
of
25
as
rated
by
JAVIER.
Note
that
this
includes
some
established
major-leaguers
(Derek
Norris,
Jarrod
Parker)
but
does
not
include
their
major-league
stats.
So
Norris
is
at
the
top
of
the
heap
even
without
accounting
for
the
fact
that
he's
got
a
career
.274
True
Average
and
43.6
VORP
already
in
the
majors.

Anyway,
take
a
gander
and
keep
it
in
mind
as
Matt
Olson,
Daniel
Robertson
and
Renato
Nunez
make
their
way
up
the
chain.

had
been
with
the
A's
for
the
last
10
years
(and
who
thus
just
postdates
Moneyball),
has
been
stolen
away
by
the
Dodgers
with
a
flashy
title
(general
manager),
presumably
more
salary
(as
befits
both
said
flashy
title
and
the
fact
that
they're
the
Dodgers),
and
a
whole
new
type
of
challenge
(spending
gobs
of
money
wisely
and
making
the
playoffs
basically
every
year
because
if
you
spend
$220
million
on
payroll
you'd
damn
well
better).
Zaidi
becomes,
as
far
as
I
know,
the
first
general
manager
in
baseball
history
with
a
PhD
(in
economics,
from
Berkeley).
He
also
becomes,
of
interest
in
a
different
way,
the
first
Muslim
general
manager.

The
former
is
intriguing
if
a
bit
concerning
in
terms
of
the
continuing
Wall
Street-ization
of
baseball,
though
it
raises
fun
trivia
questions

while
the
latter
is
a
legitimately
positive
step
in
American
culture,
and
one
that
hopefully
augurs
other
demographic
breakthroughs
(first
openly
gay,
first
female,
etc.
etc.
etc.)
in
coming
years.

Zaidi
had
been
the
A's
Director
of
Baseball
Operations
for
many
years,
and
recently
had
the
title
"Assistant
General
Manager"
added,
presumably
with
a
concomitant
pay
increase,
and
presumably
as
part
of
an
effort
to
keep
him
from
being
stolen
away
by
teams
eager
to
lure
him
by
offering
a
promotion
from
Ops
to
AGM.
Susan
Slusser
reports:

It's
also
unclear
whether
the
A's
have
anyone
in-house
who
could
move
up
a
level.
On
their
front
office
page,
they
have
a
Baseball
Operations
Analyst,
Michael
Schatz,
but
he
is
quite
young,
so
it's
anyone's
guess
whether
he's
someone
who
could
be
elevated
to
the
Director
role.
(The
obvious
rejoinder:
we're
seeing
sub-30
GMs
these
days,
so
who's
to
say
what
"young"
even
is
anymore.)

It's
a
lot
of
guesswork,
all
of
this,
including
the
guesswork
of
how
Zaidi
will
do
in
LA
and
how
the
A's
will
do
without
him.
That
he
was
successful
in
his
job
is
clear
from
the
fact
that,
without
any
particular
obvious
baseball
connections
(which
is
to
say
that
he
didn't
play
at
a
high
level),
he
lasted
10
years
in
a
front
office,
but
GMing,
even
under
Andrew
Friedman,
is
another
kettle
of
fish.
Was
he
doing
work
that
won't
be
easily
replicated
by
the
next
man
down
the
line
such
that
the
A's
will
lose
some
percentage
of
their
ability
to
field
a
competitive
team
for
bottom
dollar?
Who
knows!
Even
the
A's
probably
don't
really
know
because
assessment
metrics
for
front-office
jobs
aren't
exactly
obvious.

So
we'll
twiddle
our
thumbs
some
more
the
rest
of
this
winter
and
hope
the
A's
do
fine.
And
here's
what
I
really
hope:
that
if
the
A's
win
in
2015,
nobody
says
"see
Chip
and
Chili
and
Zaidi
and
Geaney,
who
cares,
big
deal"
and
if
the
A's
lose
in
2015,
nobody
says,
"oh
goddddd
why'd
they
let
Chip
and
Chili
and
Zaidi
and
Geaney
go,
cheap
bastards
cost
us
the
playoffs!"
There
are
too
many
variables.

old,
but
Baseball
America
ran
lists
per
minor
league
level
of
the
top
defensive
center
fielders
as
measured
by,
basically,
range
factor.
Billy
Burns
does
very
well,
ranking
behind
only
Washington's
Michael
Taylor
among
Double-A
players
and
behind
just
Taylor
and
the
Rockies'
David
Dahl
overall.

Baseball
Prospectus
calculates
Fielding
Runs
Above
Average
for
minor
leaguers
and
rated
Burns
at
+8.5
in
Midland,
so
the
adjustments
that
go
into
FRAA
don't
make
us
think
any
less
of
Burns
than
his
range
factor
does.

a
report
on
Jed
Lowrie's
situation
with
the
A's,
which
boils
down
to,
"It's
been
fun,
Jed,
good
luck
at
the
next
stop."
Which
was
predictable,
I
guess,
even
if
we
were
all
twiddling
our
thumbs
wondering
what
kind
of
odds
to
put
on
the
A's
making
a
qualifying
offer
to
Lowrie.
At
$15
million,
though,
and
with
the
way
the
QO
has
been
destroying
the
market
for
players
of
his
caliber
(i.e.
not
the
superstars),
there's
a
real
chance
he'd
accept
the
offer.
That's
great
from
the
perspective
of
"now
we
have
a
shortstop"
but
it's
not
great
from
basically
any
other
perspective
--
even
if
$15
million
represented
a
reasonable
market
value
for
his
services
(and
it's
probably
a
little
high),
the
A's
can't
pay
national
market
value
for
wins
and
expect
to
have
that
add
up
to
enough
to
get
them
into
the
playoffs.

Slusser
has
some
thoughts
about
where
to
get
a
shortstop
now,
including
the
oft-mentioned
Stephen
Drew,
an
unnamed
Cub,
or
a
Diamondback.
Slusser
asserts
that
the
Cubs
have
depth
at
the
position,
which
is
true
in
the
sense
that
they
have
Starlin
Castro
and
Javier
Baez
and
Addison
Russell,
and
they
do
have
weakness
in
their
starting
rotation
(at
least
until
they
sign
Jon
Lester
this
winter),
but
what
does
that
leave
the
A's
doing,
sending
them
Jeff
Samardzija?
I
don't
see
it.

The
Diamondbacks
probably
present
a
more
intriguing
possibility
because
they
could
make
Cliff
Pennington
or
Didi
Gregorius
available,
leaving
themselves
with
Chris
Owings
plus
whoever
they
don't
trade
to
man
the
middle
infield,
along
with
Nick
Ahmed.
Neither
Pennington
nor
Gregorius
should
cost
what
Castro/Baez/Russell
would
cost
in
trade,
which
is
fortunate
because
the
A's
don't
have
anything
left
in
their
farm
system.

a
special-assignment
scout
with
the
Yankees
now.
It
makes
me
a
little
sad
that
it's
not
with
the
A's,
but
that's
irrational
because
it's
not
like
his
scouting
for
the
A's
or
the
Yankees
would
have
anything
other
than
a
marginal
effect
on
my
fan
experience,
and
whatever
effect
it
did
have
would
be
largely
invisible
to
me.
They
don't
put
scouts
on
TV,
at
least
as
long
as
they're
not
buying
ice
cream
for
players.
« »

yet
again,
that
Howie
Kendrick
is
on
the
block.
Kendrick
has
been
a
quietly
above-average
player
for
nine
years
now,
with
a
career
True
Average
of
.270,
with
a
season
low
of
.256
and
a
high
of
.290.
Which
is
to
say
that
you
know
exactly
what
you've
gotten
from
Kendrick
since
2006,
but
it's
also
to
say
that
he's
31
now,
and
you
start
thinking
about
how
second
basemen
sometimes
get
hurt
and
how
good
players
fall
off
the
table
once
the
clock
rolls
over
into
the
3's.

On
the
other
hand,
he's
got
just
one
year
left
on
his
contract,
at
just
shy
of
$10
million,
so
a
trade
for
him
would
not
require
a
major
financial
commitment,
and
in
particular
would
not
require
the
multiyear
commitment
that
the
A's
seem
so
incapable
of/unwilling
to
put
on
their
books.

It's
no
secret
that
second
base
was
a
weak
spot
for
the
A's,
especially
offensively:
by
True
Average,
the
.228
mark
Oakland
second
basemen
posted
was
the
worst
by
23
points,
with
shortstop's
.251
the
second-worst.
More
relevantly,
the
only
teams
with
worse
production
from
second
base
were
Baltimore
(Jonathan
Schoop),
the
White
Sox
(Gordon
Beckham),
and
Colorado
(DJ
LeMahieu).
There
is,
in
other
words,
room
for
an
upgrade.

The
questions
are
whether
(a)
the
A's
should
spend
whatever
resources
they
have
upgrading
second
base
as
opposed
to
other
positions
(shortstop,
notably,
assuming
Lowrie
doesn't
come
back
via
accepting
the
qualifying
offer,
or
assuming
Lowrie
does
come
back
but
plays
second
base)
and
(b)
whether
the
A's
even
have
enough
to
get
Kendrick.
Not
every
team
needs
Kendrick,
but
a
potential
deal
with
the
Dodgers
last
season
was
going
to
revolve
around
Zach
Lee,
as
pointed
out
in
the
link,
and
Lee
was
ranked
by
Baseball
Prospectus
as
their
no.
84
prospect
before
the
season.
If
the
A's
have
anyone
that
good,
it's
Daniel
Robertson,
who
MLB.com
ranked
no.
85
in
its
most
recent
list,
but
are
the
A's
willing
to
trade
the
last
really
good
prospect
they
have
for
one
year
of
Howie
Kendrick?
Do
the
Angels
even
want
a
shortstop
when
other
teams
will
be
offering
pitching?

any
reason
at
all
to
pay
Billy
Butler
1/8
of
the
team's
payroll
to
mash
lefties
on
a
roster
where
Nate
Freiman
and
Kyle
Blanks
already
exist,
and
in
a
world
where
lefty-mashing
sluggos
come
practically
free.
The
A's
should
not,
after
all,
be
on
the
market
for
a
full-time
DH,
not
with
John
Jaso
(hopefully),
Brandon
Moss,
and
Stephen
Vogt
all
around
to
fill
the
long
end
of
the
1B/DH
platoon.
« »

Tyler
Ladendorf
to
the
40-man
roster
today.
Ladendorf
is
a
middle
infielder
of
little
repute
who
the
A's
got
from
the
Twins
way
back
in
the
Orlando
Cabrera
trade.
His
2010-13
batting
numbers
are
pretty
pitiful,
his
OBP
topping
out
at
.328
in
that
span
and
the
SLG
at
.381,
but
he
turned
it
up
a
notch
in
2014,
hitting
.297/.376/.407,
though
he
played
just
78
games
because
of
a
midsummer
drug-of-abuse
suspension.
Still,
he
would
be
a
minor-league
free
agent
if
the
A's
didn't
add
him
to
the
40-man,
and
he
probably
showed
just
enough
at
a
weak
position
for
the
A's
for
them
not
to
want
to
have
to
compete
with
other
teams
over
a
minor-league
contract.

Meanwhile,
the
A's
also
claimed
Andrew
Brown
from
the
Mets.
He's
a
theoretical
lefty-masher,
though
even
against
them
he's
managed
just
a
.229/.300/.375
major-league
line
in
160
career
PAs
over
four
years.
He
has
flat-out
crushed
the
ball
at
Triple-A,
though,
compiling
a
.298/.380/.555
line
over
those
same
four
years,
though
it's
worth
noting
that
three
of
those
seasons
were
spent
in
Las
Vegas
(2)
and
Colorado
Springs
(1),
which
are
fantastic
places
to
hit.
Still,
as
minor-league
sluggers
who
might
show
up
and
do
something
weird
in
100
emergency
PAs
go,
I'm
not
unhappy
to
have
him,
and
it's
not
like
it'll
hurt
me
overmuch
when/if
the
team
DFAs
him
to
make
room
for
the
next
guy.
Which
may
well
happen
in
a
month,
who
knows.

do
a
Beaneball
post
about
the
retirement
of
someone
who
never
played
for
the
A's
or
has
any
particular
real
connection
to
the
A's
except
of
course
that
Kevin
Youkilis
plays
a
bigger
part
than
any
other
non-Athletic
in
Moneyball
and
as
we
all
know
nobody
thinks
about
the
A's
without
thinking
"Moneyball"
so
we
may
as
well
cover
Moneyball-related
news
just
the
same
as
we
do
A's-related
news.

In
any
event,
I
vote
that
Oakland
hire
Youkilis
as
AZL
hitting
coach
when
everyone
else
gets
bumped
up
a
level
due
to
the
elevation
of
Marcus
Jensen.

the
rumors
and
courting
of
other
teams'
hitting
coaches,
the
A's
are
going
to
fill
their
remaining
coaching
vacancy/vacancies
from
within.
The
names:

Darren
Bush
moves
from
bullpen
coach
to
hitting
coach;

Marcus
Jensen
moves
from
roving
hitting
instructor
in
the
minors
to
assistant
hitting
coach
and
catching
coach;
and

Scott
Emerson
moves
from
roving
pitching
instructor
to
bullpen
coach.

That's
one
coach
out
(Chili
Davis)
and
two
in
(Jensen
and
Emerson)
--
the
extra
space
comes
from
Ariel
Prieto
not
being
retained,
which
makes
sense
given
that,
while
he
was
a
coach,
his
main
role
was
as
interpreter
for
Yoenis
Cespedes.

Googling
"catching
coach"
turns
up
a
number
of
teams
who
have
someone
listed
in
that
role:
Bill
Lachemann
in
Anaheim,
Steve
Yeager
in
Los
Angeles,
Pedro
Grifol
in
Kansas
City.
I
don't
think
all
of
those
are
dugout
coaches
though
--
teams
are
only
allowed
seven
uniformed
coaches,
so
when
you
start
counting
(batting,
asst.
batting,
first
base,
third
base,
bench,
pitching,
bullpen)
you
see
how
you're
either
going
to
have
to
forego
that
assistant
hitting
coach
or
someone's
going
to
pull
double
duty.

Of
course,
double
duty
is
hardly
unheard
of,
especially
since
base
coaching
only
takes
up
so
much
of
your
time.
Ron
Washington
was
always
more
important
to
the
A's
as
their
infield
defense
coach
than
as
a
third
base
coach,
for
instance.
And
on
the
other
hand,
the
manager
(an
ex-catcher,
of
course,
as
so
many
are)
just
has
too
much
going
on,
dealing
with
the
front
office
and
the
media,
keeping
track
of
how
his
entire
roster
is
doing
mentally
and
physically,
figuring
out
lineups
and
days
off
for
hitters
and
who's
available
out
of
the
bullpen.
You
can't
count
on
him
having
time
to
do
blocking
drills
and
pitch-framing
practice
with
the
catchers
on
top
of
that.

On
the
other
hand,
how
important
is
it
to
have
a
guy
named
"catching
coach"
in
the
dugout
in-game?
Hitting
coaches
help
with
mechanics
but
they
also,
at
least
in
theory,
can
help
with
preparation,
scouting
reports,
plans
of
attack,
adjustments,
and
so
forth.
When
a
reliever
comes
in
midgame,
the
hitting
coach
should
be
a
resource.
The
same
doesn't
apply
as
well
to
a
catching
coach,
so
it
makes
sense
to
have
that
person
either
be
nonuniformed
or
fill
multiple
roles.
The
A's
have
decided
to
roll
with
the
latter.

I'm
not
going
to
read
too
much
into
the
hiring
(promotion)
of
a
catching
coach
in
the
aftermath
of
Derek
Norris'
defensive
struggles
--
he's
always
been
known
as
a
bat-first
player,
and
the
entire
basis
of
his
prospect
status
was
that
he
hit
like
a
third
baseman,
had
a
strong
arm,
and
...
kinda
needed
work
at
the
other
stuff.
All
of
that
appears
to
remain
true.
So
the
question
is
whether
the
A's
are
basically
just
sick
of
it
and
want
to
take
their
26-year-old
almost-catcher
and
make
something
out
of
him?
Or
is
it
that
Jensen
is
an
ex-catcher,
so
what
the
hell,
let's
turn
the
catching
coaching
over
to
him?
My
guess
is
that
it's
more
the
latter,
though
I'll
listen
to
evidence
the
other
way.

Anyway,
so,
Darren
Bush
you
know
as
a
well-regarded
minor
league
manager
who
the
A's
plucked
out
of
independent
league
managing
to
be
the
hitting
coach
in
Stockton
back
in
2005.
Manager
in
2007,
Double-A
in
2009,
Triple-A
in
2011,
bullpen
coach
in
2013,
and
now
hitting
coach.
One
suspects
he
will
shortly
be
a
bench
coach
candidate
quite
soon,
and
a
good
managerial
candidate
not
long
after
that.
He's
still
only
40.
Fun
fact:
He
started
his
playing
career
in
the
independent
leagues
as
a
center
fielder
in
the
Frontier
League
before
the
Padres
signed
him
in
2009.

Marcus
Jensen
was
a
first
round
sandwich
pick
in
1999
and
wound
up
with
145
major-league
games
over
seven
years,
but
with
a
.184/.287/.289
batting
line.
He's
an
Oakland
guy
with
a
career
13
percent
walk
rate
in
the
minors
but,
despite
standing
6-foot-4,
apparently
did
not
have
the
power
you
need
to
keep
pitchers
honest
in
the
big
leagues.
He
finished
his
career
with
two
years
in
the
independent
Golden
Baseball
League
before
joining
the
A's
as
a
minor-league
coach
in
2007.
He's
been
in
the
organization
ever
since.

Finally,
Scott
Emerson
was
a
40th-round
pick
in
1991
who
pitched
six
years
in
organized
ball
but
didn't
get
past
Double-A.
He
went
to
the
same
high
school
as
Curt
Schilling.
He's
been
with
the
A's
since
2002
after
two
years
as
a
low-minors
pitching
coach
in
the
Pittsburgh
organization.

One
interesting
note
is
that
because
of
the
A's
tendencies
in
recent
years
to
acquire
every
single
one
of
their
players
by
either
trade
or
free
agency,
few
members
of
the
current
roster
played
any
of
these
three
coaches.
The
full
list
appears
to
be:

Josh
Donaldson,
managed
by
Bush
in
2008,
2009,
2011,
and
2012;

Brandon
Moss,
managed
by
Bush
in
2012

Derek
Norris,
managed
by
Bush
in
2012

Eric
Sogard,
managed
by
Bush
in
2011
and
2012

Sonny
Gray,
managed
by
Bush
in
2012

Sean
Doolittle,
managed
by
Bush
in
2008
and
very
briefly
in
2012

Evan
Scribner,
managed
by
Bush
in
2012

A.J.
Griffin,
managed
briefly
by
Jensen
in
2010,
and
pitching
coached
and
managed
by
Emerson
and
Bush
briefly
in
2011
and
partially
in
2012

On
other
teams,
Darren
Bush
might
have
his
fingerprints
on
various
players
on
the
roster,
but
not
here.
Not
that
it
means
anything,
in
terms
of
a
value
judgment
--
three
playoff
trips
in
three
years
says
what
you
need
to
know
about
the
A's
team-building.
(Though
the
likely
fallow
period
coming
may
say
something
as
well.)

has
been
the
Cardinals'
bench
coach
for
a
few
years,
will
take
the
same
position
with
the
A's.
One
doubts
that
Oakland
is
paying
him
more,
but
he's
from
my
neck
of
the
woods
(born
in
Carmel,
went
to
Monterey
High
School,
son
was
born
in
Salinas
and
went
to
Monterey
Peninsula
College,
where
my
mom
got
her
AA
--
I
went
to
"rival"
Seaside
High)
so
apparently
the
return
to
northern
California
is
a
big
deal
for
him.
« »

the
A's
are
being
as
closed-mouthed
as
always,
but
that
the
list
of
possible
next
hitting
coaches
is
basically
just
Dave
Hansen
and
Dave
Magadan.
I
have
no
commentary
for
all
the
reasons
I've
already
stated.

UPDATE:

Cross
Dave
Magadan
off
the
#Athletics'
hitting
coach
list,
he
says
he
is
sticking
with
#Rangers.

John
Hickey
has
some
more
names
who
might
be
candidates
to
replace
the
departed
Chili
Davis:
Rick
Schu
(Nationals),
Kevin
Seitzer
(Blue
Jays),
Paul
Molitor
(Twins),
Marcus
Jensen,
Greg
Sparks
and
Webster
Garrison
(all
A's
minor-league
coaches).
Hickey
mentions
the
former
three
because
they
were
all
hitting
coaches
under
Bob
Melvin
in
the
past.
In
other
words,
it
appears
that
Hickey
is
speculating,
not
reporting,
but
sometimes
(not
just
with
Hickey),
it's
hard
to
tell.

Anyway,
Hickey
also
notes
that
"With
the
hiring
of
a
new
manager,
Jeff
Bannister,
all
Rangers
coaches
have
been
told
they
are
free
to
explore
other
options,"
so
that
explains
the
Dave
Magadan
part.
Though
it
isn't
clear
what
would
happen
to
Magadan
if
he
didn't
get
a
job
elsewhere.
Is
"free
to
explore"
=
"we're
not
renewing
your
contract"?

about
Chili
Davis
vacating
Oakland
mentions
two
possible
replacements:
Dave
Magadan,
currently
in
Texas,
and
Dave
Hansen,
in
Anaheim.
The
latter
could
stay
put
if
he
gets
the
top
job
for
the
Angels,
which
would
presumably
happen
if
Don
Baylor
retires
or
takes
a
less
demanding
job
due
to
his
health
issues.
Magadan
has
interviewed
around,
so
it's
not
clear
what
his
place
is
in
Texas
--
are
they
nudging
him
out
the
door,
is
Jeff
Banister
looking
to
bring
in
his
own
guy,
or
are
they
happy
to
have
him
back
if
Texas
is
where
he
wants
to
be?

In
this
space
is
where
at
other
blogs
you
might
find
stats
about
how
the
Angels
and
Rangers
hit
in
2014
and
maybe
in
years
past,
but,
like
I
said,
I
don't
care.
So
no
stats.

John
Jaso's
future
defensive
home
mainly
because
of
now-repeated
concussions,
but
the
A's
should
have
been
asking
the
questions
all
along
because
of
his
astoundingly
poor
defense
behind
the
plate.
As
I've
said
before,
it
doesn't
take
advanced
metrics
to
see
his
defensive
habits
that
surely
drive
his
coaches
mad:
the
wiggling
around
behind
the
plate,
the
stabbing
at
the
ball,
the
inability
to
hold
a
still
target
and
let
the
ball
softly
meet
it.
That
it's
taken
concussions
to
force
him
from
behind
the
plate
is
sad
on
a
personal
level,
but
baseball
isn't
losing
another
Maueresque
defensive
wizard
to
the
tragedies
of
brain
injury.

And
by
the
way,
I
would
heavily
discount
any
idea
that
Jaso
suffers
particularly
at
DH.
There
does
appear
to
be
a
DH
penalty
(though
debates
remain
about
the
extent
to
which
such
can
be
blamed
on
managers
giving
half
days
off
to
tired
or
injured
players
vs.
something
intrinsically
more
difficult
about
DHing
itself,
even
as
there
are
perfectly
good
reasons
for
the
latter
to
be
true),
but
Jaso
having
a
poor
year
at
DH
doesn't
mean
he's
more
susceptible
to
it
for
sone
reason
(though
I
don't
doubt
that
there
are
players
whose
ability
to
DH
is
impaired
more
than
average)
--
we
need
more
evidence,
probably
more
than
we
can
ever
hope
to
gather.

Q&A's
as
a
rule
because
I
generally
hate
them,
but
this
one
with
Brandon
Moss
(and
drop-in
Statler
and
Waldorf
commentary
by
Adam
Dunn)
by
Eno
Sarris
of
FanGraphs
is
fantastic.
Moss
is
frank
and
fully
understanding
of
what
kind
of
player
he
is
and
what
kind
of
pitches
are
his
pitches
to
hit.
He
also
describes
himself
as
sabermetrically
oriented
and
watches
a
ton
of
video.
(Also,
tidbit:
Jon
Lester
watches
a
ton
of
video
as
well.)

that
Brandon
Moss
has
been
dealing
with
a
severe
right
hip
injury.
(That's
the
front
hip
for
the
lefty
batter.)
She
uses
the
phraes
"bone-on-bone,"
which
is
always
alarming
as
hell,
and
says
that
he'll
be
having
microfracture
surgery
after
the
season
to
correct
the
problem.

Moss,
as
players
often
do,
wouldn't
blame
his
second-half
shittiness
on
his
hip,
but
that's
a
pretty
obvious
explanation
for
him
to
suddenly
stop
being
able
to
hit.
If
you've
ever
read
any
swing
analysis
(Ryan
Parker
at
Baseball
Prospectus,
for
instance,
or
Jerry
Brewer
at
Athletics
Nation)
you'll
have
noticed
a
lot
of
focus
on
what
the
hips
are
doing,
how
powerfully
they're
doing
it,
the
timing
of
the
movements,
and
so
forth.
I'm
the
furthest
thing
from
a
doctor,
and
even
if
I
were
a
doctor,
I
haven't
seen
Moss'
MRI,
but
it's
still
pretty
easy
to
imagine
how,
whether
through
decreased
mobility
or
simply
pain,
Moss'
swing
could
have
become
completely
fouled
by
this
injury.

Also
alarming
is
Moss'
prospects
going
forward.
As
a
late
bloomer,
the
A's
were
never
going
to
be
able
to
count
on
him
for
years
and
years
and
years
(he's
already
30),
but
as
an
immobile
slugger,
perhaps
a
gentle
decline
into
his
early
30s
in
time
for
him
to
become
a
free
agent
in
2017
would
have
made
for
a
nice
confluence
of
skills,
cost,
and
team
control.
Now
the
skills
part
of
that
equation
is
in
question.
A
quick
google
shows
that
Moss
can
be
expected
to
be
on
crutches
for
eight
weeks
after
the
surgery,
so
being
ready
for
spring
training
shouldn't
be
an
issue,
but
what
about
his
mobility
and
power?
Will
they
come
all
the
way
back?

On
the
other
hand,
if
Moss
is
bone-to-bone
at
this
point,
is
it
likely
that
this
is
a
sudden
condition?
Or
did
Moss
post
a
146
OPS+
from
2012-13
with
partially
degraded
hip
cartilage
as
it
was,
such
that
the
surgery
doesn't
need
to
return
him
to
100
percent
hip
effectiveness
for
him
to
get
back
to
his
All
Star–caliber
hitting?
Maybe
Moss
will
address
these
questions
with
the
media
in
the
coming
weeks
or
in
the
offseason.
Maybe
we'll
be
left
speculating.
For
now,
we're
speculating
about
speculation,
but
one
thing
seems
very
likely:
The
A's
probably
cannot
count
on
Moss
to
suddenly
snap
out
of
his
"slump"
in
the
next
few
days
and,
hopefully,
in
a
deep
run
into
the
playoffs.
The
Moss
we
have
is,
for
now,
pre-surgery,
the
Moss
we
most
likely
have.

Billy
Beane
was
the
best
of
trade
partners
and
the
worst
of
trade
partners
for
Kevin
Towers.
(The
worst,
coming
as
it
did
in
the
Trevor
Cahill
trade,
weighs
quite
a
bit
more
heavily,
and
should
only
continue
to
look
worse
from
here
on
out.)
« »

apparently
on
the
verge
of
coming
back
to
baseball
as
a
general
manager
for
the
first
time
since
October
4,
2005.
This
time
it
would
be
for
the
Braves.
It
really
has
been
that
long
since
he
invented
some
of
the
modern
concepts
of
everyday
general
managing,
and
it
really
has
been
that
long
since
he
stepped
down
to
let
Mark
Shapiro
take
over
as
GM
in
Cleveland.

Which,
come
to
think
of
it,
may
be
considered
another
move
he
pioneered,
the
grooming
of
the
understudy,
though
Sandy
Alderson
had
done
the
same
thing,
leaving
to
a
position
in
MLB's
offices,
letting
Billy
Beane
take
over
the
top
chair
in
Oakland.
In
any
event,
if
Hart
were
to
take
the
reins
in
Atlanta,
it
would
apparently
be
with
the
idea
that
he
would
groom
yet
another
successor,
after
Shapiro
and
Jon
Daniels,
this
time
John
Coppolella,
a
young
jack-of-all-trades
type
with
both
stats
and
scouting
savvy
and
an
incredible
reputation
as
an
up-and-comer
within
the
game.

It
has,
just
to
hammer
this
home,
been
so
long
since
Hart
left
Cleveland
to
Shapiro
that
Shapiro
himself
has
already
bumped
upstairs
to
the
President
job
(speaking
of
now-popular
front-office
moves),
with
Chris
Antonetti
taking
over
as
GM.
This
was
Antonetti's
fourth
season
in
that
role.

will
be
shocked
to
hear,
is
right
about
bunting
to
break
up
a
no-hitter:
it's
just
not
a
big
deal
in
99
percent
of
situations.
Occasionally
it's
a
weenie
move,
but
the
most
that
should
happen
is
we
call
the
guy
a
weenie.
And
in
the
fifth
inning
of
a
close
game
with
the
defensive
shift
on?

N
O
P
E

A's
fans
already
have
a
position
on
bunting
vs.
the
shift
thanks
to
the
stupid
Bo
Porter
-
Jed
Lowrie
contretemps
(and
let's
just
take
a
moment
to
savor
Jed
Lowrie
being
the
A's
nominee
for
the
Roberto
Clemente
Award),
but
just
in
case
you
didn't
already:
if
you
take
your
third
baseman
away
from
third
base,
it
would
be
a
dereliction
of
duty
for
a
hitter
not
to
at
least
ponder
the
possibility
of
bunting
the
ball
that
direction,
regardless
of
score
or
anything
else.
It's
the
great
trade-off,
and
you
don't
get
to
have
it
both
ways.
(As
Sam
Miller
has
noted,
though,
that's
entirely
the
point
of
unwritten
rules:
using
shame
to
get
the
other
team
to
act
against
their
self-interest.)

Anyway,
I
think
a
good
article
to
pair
with
Grant's
is
Zachary
Levine's
recent
piece
at
Baseball
Prospectus
about
when
a
potential
no-hitter
starts
getting
real.
He
uses
stats.
In
this
case,
we
learn
from
those
stats
that
in
games
played
since
1950,
teams
have
completed
no-hitters
2.05
percent
of
the
time
when
they've
not
allowed
a
hit
through
four
innings.
That's
a
pretty
miniscule
shot
that
Domonic
Brown
"took
away"
by
bunting
for
a
hit
against
Andrew
Cashner.

My
HOT
NON-A'S
TAKE
is
that
prosecuting
a
mere
user
of
drugs,
particularly
these
drugs,
would
be
completely
out
of
step
with
anything
resembling
good
drug
policy
and
would
be
hard
to
justify
as
a
matter
of
prosecutorial
and
investigative
time
and
resources.
Rodriguez
seems
like
one
of
the
lamest
baseball
players
around,
but
wishing
jail
on
him
isn't
going
to
fix
that
and
it
isn't
going
to
fix
the
game
(assuming
you
think
it's
broken
in
the
first
place,
which
is
a
tough
argument
to
make).

the
wild
card
lead
is
(relatively?)
safe
at
this
point
after
a
couple
of
very
important
wins
in
Seattle.
Objectively,
I
might
agree
that
the
A's
are
in
a
good
position
over
their
final
13
games,
as
10
are
against
Texas
and
Philadelphia,
with
just
three
against
the
Angels.
As
a
fan,
the
last
month
has
been
so
horrifying
that
I'm
counting
on
the
team
going
0-13
and
will
color
myself
pleasantly
surprised
with
any
other
outcome.

seven
losses
have
been
by
exactly
one
run.
I
asked
Data
Wizard
Andrew
Koo
to
help
me
research
that,
and
he
gave
me
a
list
of
the
15
teams
since
1950
that
have
also
experienced
periods
where
their
only
losses
were
by
one
run.
And
then
I
wrote
4,000
words
about
them
at
Baseball
Prospectus.
It's
free.
« »

The
flip
side
is
that
even
if
each
of
Robertson's
tools
is
a
touch
below
(or
more)
he
can
still
be
an
excellent
prospect
because
Russell
is
that
good.
Like,
if
you're
only
60
percent
of
Barry
Bonds,
you're
amazing
too.

at
five
mistakes
the
A's
made
to
wind
up
in
the
position
they're
in.
(Specifically,
as
to
that
position:
to
wind
up
shitty.)

Well,
that's
not
quite
right.
The
idea
is
more
generally
five
mistakes
they've
made
in
the
last
two
months,
so
Brisbee
is
able
to
include
trading
Addison
Russell
even
though
that
trade
(or,
specifically,
who
they
gave
up
in
that
trade)
has
nothing
to
do
with
their
doing
well
or
not.
But
in
any
event,
it's
hard
to
argue
with
any
of
his
five
points:

Jeff
Samardzija
isn't
an
ace
and
paying
an
ace
price
for
him
was
probably
a
mistake
(though
he's
likely
an
upgrade
on
whoever
would
have
pitched
those
innings
if
they
hadn't
acquired
him,
whether
that's
a
tiring
Jesse
Chavez,
an
overmatched
Dan
Straily,
or
someone
else);

Leaving
their
sub-replacement
second-base
situation
alone
was
probably
a
mistake,
though
Billy
Beane
was
likely
betting
on
upward
regression
from
his
existing
players,
and
it
was
justified
in
the
case
of
Eric
Sogard,
who's
hit
.277/.373/.362
since
July
20th,
with
the
problem
being
that
a
fair
amount
of
that
goes
on
the
shortstop
portion
of
the
ledger
because
of
Jed
Lowrie's
injury
(which
coincided
with
Nick
Punto's,
thereby
decimating
the
A's
middle-infield
offense
and
defense
simultaneously);

The
A's
have
probably
been
unlucky,
both
in
the
classic
sense
of
misdistribution
of
runs
and
close
games
not
going
their
way
and
in
the
particular
distribution
of
talent
across
the
league
in
such
a
way
that
the
three
best
teams
in
the
American
League
might
all
be
in
their
division.
Of
course,
they
were
probably
playing
over
their
heads
in
the
first
half,
in
terms
of
certain
players
outproducing
their
talent,
but
the
Baseball
Gods
aren't
supposed
to
let
individual
regression
happen
simultaneous
with
a
rash
of
injuries
simultaneous
with
unfortunate
distribution.
That
ain't
right,
Baseball
Gods.

a
couple
of
names
of
interest
to
A's
fans
as
possible
replacements
for
Bo
Porter
in
Houston:
current
Mets
bench
coach
Bob
Geren,
who
A's
fans
of
course
know
and
love
(it
is
love,
right?)
as
the
manager
who
took
over
for
the
much-maligned
Ken
Macha
and
presided
over
a
four-plus-year
run
of
mediocrity
that
saw
the
team
finish
at
.500
just
once
and
make
the
playoffs
no
times;
and
current
A's
bench
coach
Chip
Hale,
whose
coaching
experience
also
includes
Triple-A
managing
and
third-base-coaching
for
the
Mets.

Geren
managed
under
Billy
Beane,
of
course,
and
his
current
job
has
him
working
for
Sandy
Alderson
and
his
crew
of
stat
nerd
front
office
folks
(Paul
DePodesta,
J.P.
Ricciardi,
Peter
Brand),
so
he
can
at
the
very
least
go
along
to
get
along
with
a
the
Luhnowians
in
H-Town.
Hale
the
same,
and
furthermore
he's
probably
just
about
due
for
a
gig
in
any
event.

see
how
the
roster
is
going
to
shape
up
for
September.
Most
notably,
Bryan
Anderson,
a
lefty-swinging
catcher,
has
been
added
to
the
expanded
roster,
so
the
A's
now
have
literally
17
catchers
on
the
roster.
(Proof
left
as
an
exercise
for
the
reader.)
Also
up
are
Billy
Burns
for
pinch-running
and
defense
and
Fernando
Rodriguez
as
a
bullpen
arm.
Nate
Freiman
and
Drew
Pomeranz
will
return
tomorrow.

By
the
way:
Geovany
Soto
is
starting
at
catcher
today
rather
than
Derek
Norris,
or
even
rather
than
Stephen
Vogt,
which
you
could
do
if
you
wanted
Brandon
Moss
to
play
first
and
Craig
Gentry
to
play
left.
In
the
latter
case,
we
perhaps
see
the
trading
of
defense
for
offense,
which
may
make
sense
given
that
the
A's
have
scored
four
total
runs
in
their
last
17
games.
(Proof
left
as
an
exercise
for
the
reader.)

checked
Susan
Slusser's
blog
first,
I
wouldn't
be
sitting
here
guessing
at
who's
going
where.
She
says
that
John
Jaso
is
indeed
hitting
the
disabled
list
because
of
(ugh)
concussion
symptoms.
This
is
the
second
time
in
as
many
years
that
Jaso
had
missed
time
with
a
concussion,
and
one
can
only
hope
that
he's
able
to
recover.
If
his
bad
catcher
defense
weren't
enough,
his
newfound
proneness
to
concussions
should
hopefully
spell
the
end
of
his
days
behind
the
plate.
He
hasn't
played
a
ton
of
first
base
in
his
career,
but
maybe
he
can
learn
the
position
this
offseason
(assuming
he's
able
to
recover
enough
from
the
concussion
to
actually
work
out).

the
other
hand,
the
A's
acquired
Geovany
Soto
in
a
trade
with
the
Rangers.
Oakland
gave
up
noted
prospect
Some
Bucks.
It's
not
entirely
clear
why
the
A's
need
four
catchers
except
insofar
as
Bob
Melvin
is
tired
of
watching
John
Jaso
and
Stephen
Vogt's
attempts
to
receive
pitched
baseballs.
The
A's
will
need
to
make
a
25-man
roster
move,
and
I'm
really
not
sure
what
those
are
going
to
be
unless
maybe
Jaso,
who
hasn't
played
the
last
three
games
(two
of
which
were
against
lefties)
is
hurt.
That
he
didn't
start
Sunday's
game
after
so
much
time
off
might
be
an
indication.

It
appears
the
40-man
move
was
transferring
Kyle
Blanks
to
the
60-day
disabled
list.
He
went
on
the
DL
on
June
23rd,
so
the
move
is
purely
procedural;
he's
already
been
out
for
60
days,
so
this
doesn't
say
anything
about
how
much
longer
we
should
expect
him
to
be
out.

just
now
that
Sean
Doolittle's
"eh,
no
big
deal"
twinge
in
his
side
has
magically
transformed
into
an
intercostal
strain
that
has
sent
him
to
the
disabled
list.
The
sky,
she
falls.
She
falls,
friends.
« »

all,
"we're
not
afraid
of
our
rival
and
we're
not
going
to
let
them
dictate
how
we
behave,"
and
sometimes
teams
are
smart
and
realistic
and
recognize
that
some
games
matter
more
than
others
and
swap
their
rotation
around
to
make
sure
their
best
four
starters
pitch
in
a
critical
four-game
series
against
the
team
that
could
bump
them
from
the
division
title
into
the
dreaded
anything-could-happen
(what
what
say
what)
wild
card
crapshoot
game.

on
the
enemy
news,
Nathan
Aderhold
has
this
look
at
the
Angels'
best
options
to
hold
down
the
fort
after
Garrett
Richards
sadly
went
down
with
what
is
known
in
the
halls
of
medicine
as
a
jacked-up
knee.
« »

Kyle
Blanks
won't
be
back
for
a
while.
On
the
one
hand,
the
A's
have,
at
least
at
the
corner
spots,
more
players
than
they
know
what
to
do
with.
On
the
other
hand,
Blanks
is
more
versatile
than
Nate
Freiman
and
likely
a
better
hitter,
too.
Freiman
has
options,
so
the
A's
wouldn't
be
losing
anything
if
Blanks
completed
his
rehab
as
he
was
scheduled
to
do.
Assuming
Blanks
does
play
again
this
season,
I'm
curious
to
see
how
Bob
Melvin
balances
his
time
with
Freiman,
given
that
we're
looking
at
expanded
September
rosters
before
too
long.

a
scouting
report
on
Billy
McKinney.
He's
big
on
the
hit
tool,
which
he
says
will
take
him
to
the
majors,
where
the
rest
of
his
development
will
determine
whether
he
fits
as
just
a
guy
or
A
Guy.
(My
stealing
from
Keith
Law,
not
Moore's.)
« »

weeks
ago,
here's
MLB.com's
updated
ranking
of
A's
prospects.
Note
that
Daniel
Robertson
has
jumped
into
the
overall
MLB
top
100
on
the
basis
of
his
all-around-solid
game.
New
draftee
Matt
Chapman
clocks
in
fourth
while
middle
infielder
Chad
Pinder
and
pitcher
Seth
Streich
have
made
big
jumps
up
the
rankings.
Billy
Burns
has
dropped
all
the
way
to
17th
after
beginning
the
year
at
no.
9.
« »

at
how
much
the
Red
Sox
may
have
lost
out
by
not
offering
Billy
Beane
whatever
amount
of
money
it
took
to
get
him.
There
are
assumptions
here,
including
in
particular
that
Beane's
[stuff]
would
work
just
as
well
in
Boston's
financial
environment
as
Oakland's,
but
the
scale
of
the
numbers
means
that
you
can
apply
a
lot
of
discounts
for
how
dubious
you
are
about
the
method
and
still
come
out
to
the
conclusion
that
Boston
should
have
made
Beane
an
offer
he
couldn't
refuse.
« »

(Insider
only)
a
week
ago
had
the
A's
aggressively
looking
for
a
second
baseman
but
unwilling
to
part
with
Daniel
Robertson.
Apparently
some
A's
scout
types
like
him
as
much
as
Russell,
which
sounds
ludicrous
unless
you
think
that
maybe
Russell
is
like
a
Derek
Jeter
type
on
defense
who's
going
to
take
away
15
runs
on
defense
even
as
he
provides
___
at
the
plate.
In
any
event,
Renato
Nunez,
by
contrast,
is
apparently
very
much
on
the
table.
« »

Street
a
warm
welcome
back
into
the
American
League
West,
ideally
by
hitting
about
12
homers
off
of
him
in
the
event
he
pitches
August
22-24,
28-31,
or
September
22-24.
"The
unlikely
event,"
he
said,
smugly,
implying
that
the
Angels
aren't
going
to
go
to
the
ninth
inning
with
the
lead
against
the
A's,
thereby
dooming
Oakland
to
lose
all
10
games
by
the
magic
of
baseball
blogger
karma.
« »

the
swings
of
Jose
Bautista
and
Josh
Donaldson
are
intentional.
It's
become
one
of
my
favorite
things
to
say
about
the
current
iteration
of
baseball:
swinging
real
real
real
hard
may
be
something
like
a
market
inefficiency
on
the
player
level.
« »

news,
Trevor
Cahill
is
back
from
his
excursion
in
the
minors.
He's
still
walking
the
entire
world
and
is
probably
never
going
to
be
the
pitcher
we
hoped
he'd
be,
but
at
least
he's
in
the
majors
again.
« »

from
this
analysis
of
Mike
Trout's
swing
by
Blake
Thomsen
is
that
his
mechanics
match
up
perfectly
with
what
pitchers
have
been
taught
to
do
since
time
immemorial.
"Keep
the
ball
down!"
say
the
coaches,
except
that
Trout
does
all
his
damage
on
low
pitches
and
none
on
high
pitches.
You
adjust
your
approach
to
different
batters,
but
it's
one
thing
to
throw
more
sliders
or
more
to
one
side
of
the
plate
against
some
batters
and
a
whole
other
to
work
up,
up,
up
when
with
almost
literally
everyone
else
in
baseball
you're
better
off
working
down.
The
mechanics
of
pitching
are
geared
toward
delivering
the
ball
down
in
the
strike
zone.
It's
hard
to
just
make
that
adjustment
for
one
hitter.
« »

anything
here
about
the
Jeff
Francis
trade?
I
don't
think
I
did.
Big
up
to
Billy
Beane
for
getting
something
for
Francis
from
the
Yankees,
even
if
that
something
is
like
$25,000
or
a
fourth-rate
27-year-old
reliever
in
High-A.
« »

the
best
defensive
game
of
June
and
it
stars
our
own
Josh
Donaldson.
He
uses
this
as
an
excuse
to
look
at
how
Donaldson
went
from
Auburn
infielder
to
Auburn
catcher
to
minor-league
catcher
to
major-league
third
baseman
to
incredibly
good
major-league
third
baseman.
Well
worth
the
click
if
you
have
a
subscription
to
BP.
« »

time
in
Oakland,
finally.
Or
maybe
"finally"
is
unfair
given
that
he
made
it
back
from
Tommy
John
surgery
even
before
(if
barely
before)
the
All-Star
break.
Either
way,
it's
the
end
of
the
A's
road
for
Jeff
Francis,
who
was
designated
for
assignment.
A
variety
of
things
could
happen,
including
him
staying
in
the
A's
organization,
but
the
odds
of
that
seem
low.
Given
that
he
wouldn't
be
on
the
40-man
roster
if
he
stuck
around,
in
case
of
injury
you'd
have
to
figure
that
Joe
Savery
would
be
ahead
of
him
in
line
for
a
25-man
spot
if
the
team
is
looking
specifically
for
a
lefty,
and
Fernando
Rodriguez
if
they
just
want
a
good
reliever.

for
Renato
Nunez,
who
made
the
World
Futures
Game
team.
Nunez
isn't
a
big-time
prospect
(he
was
ranked
sixth
in
the
mediocre
A's
organization
by
MLB.com
and
10th
by
Baseball
Prospectus),
though
he
does
have
big-time
power.
Hopefully
this
isn't
his
career
highlight,
but
it's
always
a
possibility.
The
2006
Futures
Games,
for
instance,
featured
Joe
Koshansky,
Eric
Patterson,
Josh
Fields,
Jason
Hirsh,
Eric
Hurley,
Nick
Pereira,
Josh
Sharpless,
Salomon
Manriquez,
Yung
Chi
Chen,
Joel
Guzman,
Anderson
Gomes,
Trent
Oeltjen,
and
Davis
Romero,
among
others.
It
also,
to
be
fair,
had
Ryan
Braun,
Troy
Tulowitzki,
Joey
Votto,
and
an
assortment
of
others
ranging
from
solid
to
well-above-average.
My
point
isn't
to
throw
shade
at
the
organizers
of
the
event,
but
simply
to
note
that
the
future,
as
it
were,
is
still
incredibly
speculative.
« »

Josh
Reddick's
activation
(specifically,
who
would
need
to
be
cut
to
make
room)
has
been
solved,
as
Kyle
Blanks
has
a
strained
calf
that
has
put
him
on
the
disabled
list.
In
the
20
games
in
which
Blanks
recorded
a
position
played,
17
of
them
were
at
first
base.
He
basically
started
against
lefties,
though
it
wasn't
a
strict
platoon
(as
has
been
Bob
Melvin's
wont
this
year).

With
Reddick
returning,
this
would
seem
to
leave
the
team
some
options.
Of
course,
when
Reddick
plays,
he'll
be
in
right
field.
And
when
he
plays
with
a
right-handed
pitcher
on
the
mound,
Brandon
Moss
will
100
percent
be
in
the
lineup,
most
likely
at
first
base.
The
difficulty
is
that
this
leaves
one
of
The
Catcher
Trio
sitting
(with
the
other
two
splitting
catcher
and
designated
hitter),
which
is
a
shame
given
how
Reddick
has
hit
the
last
year
and
a
half,
but
is
not
nearly
as
much
of
a
shame
when
you
consider
his
defense
versus
the
try-real-hard
galumphing
of
Vogt.
I
appreciate
the
hell
out
of
the
guy,
and
I
love
having
him
on
the
team,
and
it's
fun
watching
him
hit,
but
he's
not
Reddick
in
the
pasture.

The
question
is
what
to
do
against
lefties.
I'd
be
in
favor
of
Craig
Gentry
starting
over
Reddick
with
Moss
and
Alberto
Callaspo
splitting
first
base
and
DH.
That's
not
nearly
as
fearsome
a
lineup
as
the
one
against
righties,
but
that's
exactly
how
you
want
to
build
your
team,
right?
Why
sign
a
bunch
of
lefty
mashers
when
you're
only
going
to
get
to
use
them
one
day
in
four?

Once
again,
though,
we're
just
talking
about
base
lineups,
not
the
everyday
configuration.
Check
out
the
A's
calendar
of
defensive
assignments
this
year
--
players
get
rest,
players
have
owies,
players
get
pulled
for
matchup
reasons,
it's
all
there.
Really,
though,
all
I
ask
is
that
we
give
Reddick
a
break
against
lefties.

first
in
baseball
at
turning
batted
balls
into
outs
and
it's
not
particularly
close,
so
if
platooning
is
hurting
their
defense,
then
it
must
be
because
they're
superhuman
at
defense
normally.
I
appreciate
the
theorizing,
but
a
little
actual
data
(no,
error
totals
don't
count)
can
go
a
long
way.
« »

that,
here's
your
25-man
answer
--
Evan
Scribner
is
headed
back
to
Sacramento.
Relatively
predictable.
If
he
wasn't
good
enough
to
beat
out
Jeff
Francis
for
a
roster
spot
three
days
ago,
why
would
he
be
good
enough
now?
See
you
next
time,
Scrumbles.
« »

who
would
be
removed
from
the
40-man
roster
to
make
room
for
Brad
Mills
(who
is
starting
today)
has
been
solved:
the
A's
waived
Justin
Marks
and
lost
him
to
[drumroll]
the
Rangers.
Duh.
It's
frankly
almost
a
little
creepy
at
this
point,
the
Rangers
claiming
everyone
the
A's
waive.

The
25-man
roster
move
to
get
Mills
on
is
still
a
mystery.
The
lineup
card
for
22
men
listed
(nine
batting
starters,
four
benchies,
eight
bullpen,
and
Mills),
which
either
means
a
typo
(e.g.
forgetting
to
take
Jeff
Francis
off
the
card),
a
late-breaking
move
(e.g.
they
haven't
actually
optioned
Evan
Scribner
yet
because
they
haven't
decided
whether
they
want
to),
or,
most
disastrously,
a
starting
pitcher
is
going
to
go
on
the
disabled
list.

I'm
not
sure
what
the
deadline
is
to
set
your
25-man
roster
before
a
game,
i.e.
I
don't
know
whether
the
second
option
above
is
even
possible.

Baseball
Reference
page
for
the
pitcher
the
A's
got
in
return
for
Michael
Taylor.
He's
24
in
the
South
Atlantic
League
and
signed
as
an
undrafted
free
agent.
He's
a
very
long
shot,
good
peripheral
numbers
this
year
aside.
There's
real
danger
of
this
line
of
a
long
trade
tree
that
includes
Brett
Wallace
and
Matt
Holliday
and
Carlos
Gonzalez
and
so
forth
being
snuffed
out
if
Sanchez
gets
released
by
the
A's
without
ever
making
enough
of
a
dent
to
be
traded
again.

Good
luck
to
Taylor,
though.
I
don't
know
that
he
couldn't
be
a
useful
part-timer
for
a
few
years
if
the
opportunity
arose.
He
seems,
human
being-wise,
like
he
deserves
it.

this
piece
by
Jen
Mac
Ramos
is
Justin
Duchscherer,
but
I'd
share
it
regardless
--
it's
an
important
blend
of
personal
history
and
reporting
on
mental
health
and
baseball.
Those
of
us
fortunate
enough
to
be
free
of
anxiety,
depression,
or
other
disorders
should
be
aware
of
what
people
without
such
luck
go
through,
and
in
particular
it
is
nice
to
see,
maybe,
little
by
little,
the
culture
inside
baseball
turning
from
"that
guy
is
soft"
to
"we
need
to
support
that
guy
so
he
can
try
to
get
better."
« »

on
the
Manny
Machado
suspension
(he
did
not
get
enough
because
of
the
particular
tool
involved
in
the
fracas)
seems
right
to
me.
(He
would
also
have
suspended
Abad,
which
I
agree
with
as
well
because
I
would
try
to
legislate
throwing-at-hitters
out
of
the
game.
Even
in
the
context
of
the
situation
as
it
stands,
I'm
not
sure
why
he
didn't
get
one
game
at
least.
He
clearly
tried
to
hit
Machado,
right?
Chen's
HBP
of
Donaldson
was
at
least
ambiguous,
if
suspect.)
« »

an
appreciation
of
Sean
Doolittle,
the
ridiculous
work
he's
done,
and
the
completely
absurd
way
in
which
he's
done
it
(all
fastballs,
all
up
in
the
zone).
Don't
let
it
become
routine,
fellow
fans.
Baseball
is
ephemeral,
life
is
fleeting,
joy
never
lasts,
it's
all
darkness
and
pain
in
the
not-even-very-long
run.
Embrace
Doolittle
and
celebrate
his
accomplishments
every
day.
Peace
be
with
you.
« »

on
the
Orioles
nonsense
from
this
weekend
looks
right
to
me.
Even
the
part
where
he
doesn't
know
the
difference
between
Eric
Sogard
and
Alberto
Callaspo.
Cut
him
some
slack,
he's
a
Giants
fan,
the
expectations
are
lower.

Also:
check
out
the
Bert
Campaneris
GIF
at
that
link.
Doesn't
it
seem
like
Campy
just
doesn't
react
at
all
until
the
ball
has
already
smacked
him?
Did
he
not
see
it?
Did
pitchers
throw
super-deceptive
back
then?
Mysterious.

missed
it,
the
Diamondbacks
have
designated
Trevor
Cahill
for
assignment.
It's
too
bad,
and
it
evokes
weird
feelings
as
a
fan
--
you're
happy
that
Billy
Beane
made
the
trade
when
he
did,
taking
the
heat
for
trading
a
supposed
young
stud
for
speculative
pieces,
but
you're
not
happy
about
why
you're
happy
because
Cahill
seemed
like
a
nice
guy,
a
good
player
to
root
for.
Not
a
goofball
like
Brett
Anderson
or
a
big
personality
like
Grant
Balfour,
but
just
a
solid
dude.

And
so
now,
after
one
mediocre
season
in
Arizona
followed
by
one
horrific
start
to
a
season
and
then
a
demotion
to
the
bullpen,
he's
just
an
extra
piece,
someone
you
designate
when
you
need
the
40-
or
25-man
roster
space.
He's
Evan
Scribner.

I'll
be
curious
to
see
whether
Arizona
can
swing
a
trade
or
get
someone
to
bite
on
waivers
to
get
out
from
under
his
contract.
He's
got
about
$5
million
still
coming
to
him
over
the
rest
of
this
year
and
$12
million
next
year!
Plus
$800,000
worth
of
buyouts.
So
it
seems
likely
that
he
could
get
through
waivers
on
price
tag
alone.

The
new
market
inefficiency
is
signing
bad
players
to
huge
contracts
and
then
DFAing
them
so
you
know
they
won't
get
claimed.
You'll
never
lose
Trevor
Cahill
unless
you
want
to.

piece
on
Brandon
Moss
has
a
lot
of
great
bits
in
it.
Moss
signed
with
the
A's
because
he
was
frustrated
with
the
Phillies
and
because
he
wanted
to
go
to
the
PCL
to
boost
his
power
numbers
so
he
could
get
a
contract
in
Japan.

Moss
plays
first
in
part
because
of
Farhan
Zaidi
(a
story
that's
been
told)
and
in
part
because
Darren
Bush,
his
Triple-A
manager,
asked
him
how
he
could
help
Moss
get
to
the
majors,
Moss
replied
that
he'd
like
to
add
some
versatility
by
working
in
at
first
base,
and
Bush
readily
agreed.

And
finally,
Moss
appreciates
the
A's
stats
department,
talking
about
how
stats
give
you
the
larger
picture
of
a
player,
in
sharp
contrast
to
the
sort
of
"we're
just
numbers
to
them"
rhetoric
you
sometimes
hear,
including
from
the
direction
of
Houston
recently.
Surely
that's
in
part
Moss'
appreciation
for
Zaidi's
role
in
giving
him
his
shot,
but
it
may
also
speak
to
the
A's
ability
to
communicate
what
the
stats
people
are
doing
and
why
to
the
players
(and
coaches
and
scouts?).

paid
a
little
money
to
get
Justin
Marks,
a
lefty
pitcher,
from
the
Royals.
Kansas
City
had
designated
him
for
assignment.
He'll
head
to
Sacramento,
so
no
25-man
move,
but
there
will
need
to
be
something
done
on
the
40-man
roster.
Your
Official
Beaneball
Prediction
is,
in
order:
Evan
Scribner;
Joe
Savery;
Kent
Matthes.
With
the
quasi-imminent
return
of
Eric
O'Flaherty,
another
40-man
move
will
be
needed
in
the
not-so-distant
future,
and
with
Marks
and
O'Flaherty
both
being
lefties,
I
can't
imagine
that
Joe
Savery's
time
in
this
organization
is
long.

Marks,
by
the
way,
was
an
A's
third-rounder
in
2009
who
they
sent
away
in
the
David
DeJesus
trade.
He's
toiled
in
the
minors
since
then,
with
just
one
big-league
game
(this
year)
to
his
credit.
He's
already
26,
and
his
numbers
in
the
high
minors
(8
K/9,
4
BB/9,
10
H/9)
are
nothing
to
get
excited
about.
He's
only
this
year
made
the
switch
to
the
bullpen,
though
--
11
of
his
13
appearances
in
Omaha
were
in
relief,
after
starting
88
(of
100)
games
from
2009
through
2013.

In
short,
this
is
nothing
to
get
excited
over,
which
you
probably
already
knew.

good
rumination
by
Liz
Roscher
on
why
you
stick
with
a
losing
team.
It's
obviously
not
relevant
to
A's
fans
these
days,
but
our
time
will
come
again,
surely,
and
perhaps
unexpectedly
soon.
Hell,
ask
Phillies
fans
how
quickly
it
can
all
turn
around.
« »

guess
that
Jim
Johnson
won't
be
traded,
Susan
Slusser
says
that
it's
a
lot
closer
to
"when"
than
"if."
She
adds
that
the
A's
are
willing
to
pick
up
a
big
chunk
of
his
salary
to
send
him
out,
which
does
change
things.
A
$2
million
struggling
ex-closer
is
a
lot
more
intriguing
on
the
trade
market
than
a
$10
million
struggling
ex-closer.
And
if
he's
really
essentially
the
eighth
option
in
the
bullpen,
which
he
might
be
when
Eric
O'Flaherty
returns,
then
not
keeping
him
around
just
because
he
used
to
be
good
is
the
right
move.

Of
course,
that's
the
question:
what's
his
true
talent
level
right
now?
What
is
his
likely
production
over
the
rest
of
the
year?
(And
did
the
A's
home
fans
break
him
and
also
what
kind
of
amazing
shitstorm
is
there
going
to
be
over
how
the
fans
drove
him
out
when
he
does
get
traded?)

about
how
the
A's
nearly
traded
Jim
Johnson
to
the
Marlins
for
the
39th
pick
in
the
draft
is
very
intriguing.
It
would
have
cost
the
A's
some
cash,
but
they'd
also
have
been
getting
a
player
back.
As
Rosenthal
tells
it,
translated
into
my
own
words,
the
A's
aren't
shopping
Johnson,
but
the
Marlins
came
with
an
offer
they
couldn't
refuse.
With
Ryan
Cook
now
back,
Eric
O'Flaherty
coming
back,
and
Fernando
Rodriguez
being
squeezed
out
to
Sacramento,
Johnson
is
looking
more
and
more
like
a
spare
part.

That
said,
this
deal
having
fallen
apart
(in
favor
of
the
Marlins
acquiring
Bryan
Morris
from
the
Pirates,
which
tells
you
a
lot,
maybe,
about
where
Jim
Johnson's
stock
is),
I'd
be
reasonably
surprised
(say
55
on
the
20-80
scale)
to
see
Johnson
traded
anywhere
else.

what
in
my
opinion
should
be
an
uncontroversial
piece
about
how
ballplayers
shouldn't
call
other
ballplayers
"girls"
in
public
as
an
insult
and,
well,
hey,
it's
sports,
so
you
can
guess
what
the
comments
section
is
like.

a
couple
of
injury
rehab
updates,
including
that
Ryan
Cook
pitched
a
rehab
appearance
in
Stockton
tonight.
But
who
loses
their
spot?
The
Fernandos
(Abad
and
Rodriguez)
have
pitched
well,
Dan
Otero
shouldn't
be
going
anywhere,
and
without
Jeff
Francis,
the
team
has
no
long
man,
which
may
not
sound
like
a
big
deal
to
us,
but
it's
something
managers
fret
about,
so
the
team
may
as
well
appease
Bob
Melvin
on
that
front
whether
the
front
office
feels
it's
necessary
or
not.

Which
leaves
Jim
Johnson.
He's
an
obvious
candidate
to
go
get
himself
sorted
out,
and
count
me
as
not
at
all
a
believer
in
the
reality
of
his
home/road
splits
--
it's
always
possible
the
fans
have
gotten
in
his
head,
but
it's
more
likely
random
variation.
It
appears
that
Johnson
was
optioned
in
2007
and
2010,
which
would
mean
that
he
has
one
more
option
year
for
the
A's
to
exploit.
However,
per
the
MLB
collective
bargaining
agreement,
a
player
with
more
than
five
years
of
service
time
has
the
right
to
refuse
an
assignment
to
the
minor
leagues.
Johnson
entered
the
year
just
days
shy
of
six
years,
so
he
falls
in
that
category.
Could
the
A's
convince
him
to
hit
Sacramento
with
a
vengeance
and
get
himself
ready
to
return
as
soon
as
he
proves
himself
able?

Maybe!
But
maybe
the
pending
free
agent
thinks
he's
about
to
turn
a
corner
and
sees
his
future
market
value
as
taking
a
sizable
hit
if
he
winds
up
spending
a
month
in
Triple-A.
In
which
case
we're
probably
back
to
Fernando
Rodriguez,
which
would
be
a
shame.

the
A's
five-point
challenge
communication
system
after
talking
with
bench
coach
Chip
Hale,
though
it's
starting
to
look
like
it'll
be
more
of
a
two-point
challenge
system
sooner
rather
than
later.
« »

for
A's
fans
or
anyone
else,
really,
and
you'll
want
to
ignore
the
bits
about
how
the
A's
have
"traditionally"
won
with
platoons
and
how
apparently
the
only
signal
for
hitting
regression
is
BABIP,
but
if
you
want
to
see
the
update
on
how
the
Jorek
Norso
catcher
platoon
is
hitting,
hit
that
link.

I
would
add
that
I'm
happy
that
Bob
Melvin
has
essentially
been
forced
by
Norris'
hot
hitting
to
run
with
the
Jaso-DH
/
Norris-C
lineup
I
spent
way
too
much
time
advocating
for
this
winter.

today
is
a
very
optimistic
quote
from
an
anonymous
scout
about
Daniel
Robertson,
essentially
saying
that
his
skills
and
acumen
overcome
a
lack
of
tools.
Second
baseman
of
the
future?
It
would
be
nice
to
have
some
stability
at
the
position,
to
the
extent
stability
is
ever
a
thing
the
A's
have
anywhere.
« »

is
back,
and
that's
nothing
but
good
news.
He'll
play
in
extended
spring
training
for
a
while
before
heading
back
to
Double-A,
where,
with
any
luck,
he
will
pick
up
where
he
left
off
and
prove
himself
ready
to
take
over
shortstop
in
2015.
(With
Jed
Lowrie
re-signing
with
the
A's
for
three
years
and
$39
million
to
play
second
base.)
((Right?))
« »

examines
the
A's
success
the
last
two
years
at
trading
prospects
for
veterans,
a
method
that
is
in
certain
circles
frowned
on,
as
RJA
notes
--
the
consensus
stat
nerd
Right
Way
to
Win
is
to
develop
your
prospects
and
let
them
succeed
in
the
majors.
As
the
A's,
Yankees,
Braves,
Rays,
Red
Sox,
and
Giants
have
shown
over
the
last
15
years,
though,
there
is
no
Right
Way
to
Win.
« »

at
the
draft
and
determines
that
things
are
even
more
of
a
crapshoot
than
the
popular
narrative
might
have
it,
especially
after
the
first
round,
when
teams
basically
appear
to
have
no
ability,
on
the
whole,
to
tell
who's
deserving
of
what
money,
at
least
within
tiers
(e.g.
they
might
be
good
at
deciding
who
is
a
second-round
talent
vs.
tenth-round,
but
within
the
second
round,
who
knows).
See
also
the
comments
from
MGL.
« »

Josh
Donaldson
could
get
voted
in
to
the
All-Star
Game.
Even
as
a
non-homer
and
even
as
someone
who
believes
in
voting
for
the
best
players
rather
than
the
best
first
halves,
I'd
be
for
that.
He's
leading
the
American
League
in
bWAR
and
was
a
legit
MVP
candidate
last
year.
I
wouldn't
be
mad
at
Texas
and
Tampa
fans
for
voting
for
Adrian
Beltre
or
Evan
Longoria,
though.
« »

David
Schoenfield
looks
at
the
A's
run
of
dominance
(all
year
and
in
particular
in
the
last
ten
games)
and
sees
a
team
with
100-win
upside.
As
he
notes,
you
don't
project
a
team
to
win
100,
but
if
you're
looking
for
a
roster
in
a
division
where
that
can
be
accomplished,
you
might
well
be
looking
for
Oakland.
« »

adding
Jeff
Francis
to
be
the
last
guy
in
the
bullpen
over
Joe
Savery.
It's
fine.
If
he's
pitching
in
a
situation
where
he
can
have
a
true
effect
on
the
win
probability,
then
things
have
gone
badly
wrong
in
any
event.
And
who
knows
--
he
used
to
be
good!
« »

quite
consign
the
Rangers
to
the
dustbin
in
light
of
the
injuries
to
Martin
Perez
and
Matt
Harrison,
but
close
enough.
Much
as
I
don't
like
feeling
cocky
about
the
A's
chances
(karma!),
it's
hard
to
see
the
Rangers
as
a
threat.
« »

the
A's
recent
set
of
pitching
moves
in
his
latest
Transaction
Analysis.
(Full
disclosure:
he
linked
to
this
blog.)
((Fuller
disclosure:
I'd
have
linked
his
piece
whether
he
linked
to
mine
or
not.))
Read
the
whole
thing
if
you've
got
a
sub.
He's
a
gem,
and
he's
punchier
than
usual
in
this
edition
of
the
TA.
« »

a
look
around
the
league
at
five
questions
after
the
first
quarter
of
the
season.
One
fifth
of
one
of
the
questions
is
whether
Josh
Reddick
should
give
way
to
Craig
Gentry
even
more.
At
least
against
lefties,
I'm
pretty
convinced
that
Gentry-Crisp-Cespedes
should
be
the
default
outfield.
« »

details
of
the
Sean
Doolittle
extension.
The
dollars
are
contingent
on
which
side
of
the
Super
Two
line
he
lands
on
this
offseason,
so
we
still
can't
say
with
any
certainty
how
much
it's
worth,
though
the
approximate
discount
should
be
the
same
either
way.
« »

to
react
with
too
much
triumphalism
because
I
hope
Sam
Fuld
gets
a
major-league
job
and
I'll
feel
bad
for
my
fellow
human
being
if
he
doesn't,
but
I'm
just
glad
the
A's
stuck
with
Josh
Reddick
despite
31
bad
plate
appearances
over
keeping
Fuld
now
that
Craig
Gentry
is
back.
« »

a
rhubarb
tonight,
which
they
don't
do
very
frequently
but
which
they
seem
to
do
only
in
close
or
important
games.
Jane
Lee's
best
quote
in
her
story
is
definitely
the
one
from
Bob
Melvin
at
the
end.
I
also
like
the
Rashomon
aspect
of
Donaldson's
version
of
the
events
compared
to
Perkins'.
« »